commit, v.
(kəˈmɪt)
Forms: 4–6 committe, -ytte, 5 comytt(e, 5–6 commyt, 6 commytt, conmit, 6–7 comyt, 7 committ, comitt, 5– commit. pa. tense and pple. committed; also contr. pa. pple. 5 comytt, 6 commytte, commit.
[ME. committe, ad. L. committ-ĕre to put together, join, also (com- intensive) to put for safety, give in charge, entrust, deliver, f. com- + mitt-ĕre to send, put forth, etc. Another type had been previously taken from French as comise, commise.]
I. To give in charge, entrust, consign.
1. a. trans. To give to some one to take care of, keep, or deal with; to give in charge or trust, entrust, consign to (a person, his care, judgement, etc.).
| c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶339 Thanne shul ye committe the kepyng of youre persone to youre trewe freendes. 1423 James I Kingis Q. cxcvi, The fatall Influence, Causit from hevyn, quhare powar Is commytt Of gouernance. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 33 a, Committe alle thy causes to god. 1494 Fabyan Chron. ii. xxxiii. 26 To this woman..was commytted all the gouernaunce of the lande. 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. xvii. 20 Dauid..commytted the shepe to y⊇ keper. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 6 The christin pepil committit to our cure. 1611 Bible Ps. xxxi. 5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit. 1747 Col. Rec. Penn. V. 122 In committing goods of such a value to the Indian Traders. 1870 Stanhope Hist. Eng. II. x. 61 He could not venture to land the troops committed to his charge. |
† b. To commend by prayer or imprecation.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 113 Committing them wholy to the Devill for their contumacie. 1599 Thynne Animadv. (1865) 60, I sett end to these matters; comyttinge you to god, and me to your curtesye. |
c. refl. in sense 1. Also, to trust oneself to (the elements, the sea, etc.); formerly also absol. = refl.
| 1538 Starkey England i. i. 22 To them wych in grete tempest wyl commyt themselfe to the daungerys of the see. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 68 The king..understanding that the Archbishop would commit himselfe to his arbitrement. 1599 Sir J. Haywarde 1st Pt. Life Hen. IV, 68 The Duke..presently departed to Calic, and so committed to sea for England. 1612 Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) Pref. 8 By curing of such as committed themselves to his weak skill. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 150 ¶8 To set rocks..at defiance..and commit his life to the winds. 1838 S. Parker Explor. Tour (1846) 51 Committing myself to God. |
d. to commit administration: see quots.
| 1559 [see committing vbl. n.]. 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures §200 If that he make no executours..the ordinary may commit the administration of his goods to others. 1607–72 J. Cowell Interpr. s.v. Administrator..If the Administrator die..it behoves the Ordinary to commit a new administration. a 1626 Bacon Max. & Uses Com. Law 68 The Archbishop of that province where he dyed is to commit the administration. 1767 Blackstone Comm. II. 506 It is necessary for the ordinary to commit administration afresh, of the goods of the deceased not administred. |
e. to commit to writing (to paper, etc.): to put in writing, write down for preservation, record in writing; so † to commit to history (obs.). to commit to memory; also simply to commit (colloq.): to learn by heart.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 69 Alanus, Herbertus, and other..that commytted to story the doyngs of Becket. 1576 Fleming Panoplie Ep. 226 The Epistle is worthie to be committed to memorie. 1695 Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth i. (1723) 72 There was little Leisure to committ any thing to Writing. 1741 Watts Improv. Mind (1801) 143 Things which we would commit to our remembrance. 1793 G. Crump in T. Beddoes Lett. to E. Darwin 33 Not having committed any thing to paper relative to him. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 129 No longer compelled to commit to memory many thousand..verses. 1883 Manch. Guardian 22 Oct. 5/4 When the bashful bard had committed his verses to print. Mod. He always writes his speeches carefully first and then commits them. |
2. To put into some place or receptacle to be kept safe or dealt with in some way; to consign. Obs. exc. in commit to the earth, commit to the flames, etc., in which there is now a notion of deliver.
| 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Burial, We therefore commit his body to the ground. 1587 Let. in Lansd. MS. 115 Art. 93 Committinge the pepper into caskes. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. ii. iii. 95 Commit them to the fire. c 1611 Chapman Iliad xxiii. 223 I'll find an urn of gold t' enclose them..and to rest Commit them. 1631 Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 847 Taking off the Lead, and committing it to sale. 1678 Butler Hud. iii. ii. 562 We idly sit..Our Hands committed to our Pockets. 1749 Smollett Regicide v. vii, To the cold grave commit my pale remains! 1782 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. II. ix. 187 Great numbers..were..committed to the flames. 1878 Morley Diderot I. 165 They committed all the original manuscripts..to the flames. |
3. spec. To consign officially to custody or confinement; to send to prison, esp. for a short time or for trial: a. with complement, to prison, etc.
| 1467 Ord. Worcester xxxviii. in Eng. Gilds 391 W{supt}out he be commytted to prison for felony. 1495 Act 11 Hen. VII c. 10 §1 To take the bodies of the seid persones..and theym to comytte to Warde. 1549 Latimer 2nd Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 74 He would be punyshed and commytted to ward. 1632 High Commission Cases (Camden) 315 She shalbe committed close prisoner to Newgate. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. 401 Committing a Homicide into prison. 1793 Blackstone Comm. (ed. 12) 343 He may apprehend, and commit to prison, all persons who break the peace. 1833 H. Martineau Three Ages iii. 96 The magistrates committed the prisoners to the House of Correction for one month each. 1876 Green Short Hist. vii. 351 Four prelates..were..committed on frivolous pretexts to the Tower. |
b. simply.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 387 The Erle of Arondell taken and committed. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. ii. 112 You did commit me. 1656 Bramhall Replic. vi. 231 Power to administer an Oath, or to commit a Malefactor. 1752 Fielding Amelia Wks. 1775 X. 17 This fellow is a gambler, and committed for cheating at play. 1886 Law Rep. Wkly. Notes 197/1 To commit a solicitor for breach of an order to deliver a bill of costs. |
| absol. 1817 W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 866 The sheriff had not any authority to commit. 1855 Macaulay Hist. IV. 623 Justices were unwilling to commit. |
4. Legislation. To refer or entrust (a bill, etc.) to a committee.
| 1621 H. Elsing Debates Ho. Lords (1870) 95 To proceede with those Bylles which are comytted. 1640–1 Ld. Digby Parl. Sp. 9 Feb. 6 This..Petition should bee committed. 1678 Marvell Growth Popery 33 This Notorious Bill..was read a second time, and committed. 1778 H. Laurens in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) II. 235 Although your Excellency's observations are committed, I am much mistaken if every member of Congress is not decided in his opinion in favor of them. 1818 Jas. Mill Brit. India III. vi. i. 39 This bill..when, in the language of parliament, it was committed, in other words, considered by the House, when the House calls itself a committee. |
II. To commission. [Cf. committee.]
† 5. To charge with a duty or office; to commission, appoint. Obs.
| 1475 Bk. Noblesse 85 The tresorers and chaungers that were comytted to receyve the money. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. ii. xxx. 142 And rewlers shal be there commytted for to rewle them. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cccix. 468. 1549 Compl. Scot. (1801) 152 Tua consulis..quha var committit to be cheiffis and captans of the armye of the Romans. |
III. To perpetrate or perform (in a bad sense).
[This sense existed in Latin from the earliest period: its actual genesis is doubtful; it may have been ‘to put forth’, ‘to put together’, or ‘to engage in’.]
6. a. To do (something wrong or reprehensible); to perpetrate, be guilty of (a crime, offence, etc.).
| 1490 Caxton Eneydos xxiv. 90 Thoffence that Eneas hath commytted ayenste me. 1548 Udall, etc. tr. Erasm. Par. Acts 89 b, I haue committed nothyng agaynst my countreymen. 1553 Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 18 Yf any man committe murther. 1565 Jewel Reply Harding (1611) 363 Thou shalt not commit Vsurie to thy Brother. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. vi. 34 When we haue committed God any faults let vs be afrayd. 1611 Bible Ex. xx. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 16.. Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 166 The monstrous murder of Nero committed on his mother Agrippina. 1789 Bentham Princ. Legisl. xiii. §1 There are some offences which all the world can commit. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 2 That the grantee shall not commit felony or treason. 1876 Green Short Hist. iv. 166 Responsible for crimes committed within its bounds. |
b. (a folly, an error, etc.)
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. vi. 37 Louers cannot see The pretty follies that themselues commit. 1625 Bacon Ess., Friendship (Arb.) 177 Absurdities, Many..doe commit. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 26, I oft admire, How Nature..could commit Such disproportions. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey vii. i, What radical error had he committed? 1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. iv. 70 It is a piece of folly..which I cannot think of permitting her to commit. |
† c. absol. To commit an offence, offend; to commit adultery or fornication. Obs.
| 1560 Bible (Genev.) Rom. Argt., When man..committed most abominably, both against the law of God, and nature. 1605 Shakes. Lear iii. iv. 83 Commit not with mans sworne Spouse. a 1613 Overbury Characters, A Very Woman (N.), She commits with her ears, for certain..she has been lain with in her understanding. 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 434 You did not commit against it voluntarily. 1643–60 [see committing ppl. a. b.]. |
d. humorously. To do, perform (something put by the speaker on a level with an offence).
| 1678 Butler Hud. iii. ii. 962 Lampoons, the only Wit, That Men, like Burglary, commit. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. III. 80 The saint once..imprudently committed a miracle. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey ii. i, ‘Committing’ puns. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xiv, ‘My dear ma'am,’ said Tom Smart—he had always a great notion of committing the amiable. 1875 Whitney Life Lang. viii. 147 A person commits thus an addition to language. |
† e. to commit marriage. (Perh. in 1594 = ‘joined, made up’.)
| 1594 Lyly Moth. Bomb. i. iii. 81, I have been tampering as long to have a marriage committed betweene my wench and Memphio's onely sonne. a 1704 L'Estrange (J.), A creeping young fellow committed matrimony with a brisk gamesome lass. |
IV. To put together, join, engage, involve.
† 7. To connect, join, unite, fasten. Obs.
| 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 47 Vessels..committyng and ioynyng the testicle to Peritoneum. 1578 Banister Hist. Man i. 25 Thus are the ribbes committed to the Vertebres. 1667 H. More Div. Dial. iii. §28 (1713) 250 A company of Rings closely committed together. 1672 Grew Anat. Plants 5 The two main Branches..are not committed into the Seminal Trunk of the Plume. |
† 8. to commit battle [L. committere pugnam]: to join battle; to engage in battle. Obs. rare.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 112 b, We be constreyned to commyt batayle and fyght. 1630 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. 466 Here was committed that memorable warre. |
9. a. To engage (parties) as opponents or competitors, to match; to bring into contest, involve in hostility (with). ‘A Latinism’ (J.). ? Obs.
| 1612–5 Bp. Hall Contempl. vi. Recollect. Treat. 1062 He that hath brought us into this field, hath promised us victory. God knew their strength, ere he offred to commit us. 1620 ― Hon. Mar. Clergy iii. §18 To be committed with any reasonable or scholler-like antagonist. 1677 Gilpin Dæmonol. (1867) 240 From hence, as when fire and water are committed together, ariseth a most troublesome conflict. 1804 Castlereagh in Wellesley's Disp. (ed. Owen) 262 It commits us in hostility with the three greatest military powers of the empire. 1815 Earl Bathurst in Gurw. Disp. Wellington X. 5, I apprehend everything from his committing the army with Buonaparte. |
† b. fig. ‘To place in a state of hostility or incongruity.’ (J.) Obs. rare—1.
| 1645 Milton Sonn. xiii. To H. Lawes, Not to scan With Midas' ears, committing short and long. |
c. To involve in hostile or disagreeable relations; to embroil. [Cf. F. commettre le père avec le fils (Littré).]
| 1855 Milman Lat. Chr. (1864) IV. vii. v. 158 The revolted son..whom it was their interest to commit irrevocably with his father. |
10. a. To expose by some compromising act to possible risk, danger, or suspicion; to involve, compromise. (Sense not in Johnson or Todd; in Webster 1828.)
Walker says ‘First used in Junius's Letters in a sense unknown to our former English writers. This sense is borrowed from the French, and has been generally adopted by different writers’.
| c 1770 Junius Lett. (W.), You might have satisfied every duty of political friendship without committing the honor of your sovereign. 1792 T. Jefferson Writ. (1859) III. 454 The importance of restraining individuals from committing the peace and honor of the two nations. 1816 J. Gilchrist Philos. Etym. 37 Yet Dugald Stewart has committed the reputation of his understanding, by asserting, etc. 1863 Mrs. C. Clarke Shaks. Char. vi. 157 Shakespeare has never once committed his character in such a way that we should refuse cordially to grasp his hand. |
b. To engage or pledge by some implicative act (to a particular course).
| [1786 Burke W. Hastings Wks. 1842 II. 227 Warren Hastings, by the said guarantee, did..pledge and commit the publick faith of the company, and the nation.] 1839 W. E. Forster in T. W. Reid Life (1888) I. iv. 124 If I be not speedily committed to the slave trade cause, I shall be committed to something else. 1879 Froude Cæsar xv. 245 Pompey was deeply committed to Cæsar's agrarian..law. |
c. refl. To compromise oneself. d. To pledge oneself by implication to a course (evil or risky).
| 1799 Walpoliana xii. 8 They hesitate and wait for the public opinion..they are afraid to commit themselves by speaking out. 1803 Nelson 29 Dec. in Nicolas Disp. (1845) V. 336 The Queen..would hardly commit herself in communicating secrets to a Frenchman. 1839 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. IV. ii. 40 This is what comes of committing ourselves to an evil line of conduct. 1861 Sat. Rev. 14 Sept. 269 The strength of a snub lies in the sudden apprehension that we have committed ourselves. a 1862 Buckle Civiliz. (1869) III. iv. 193 The preachers had now committed themselves too far to recede. 1875 Stubbs Const. Hist. II. xvii. 604 When the question is put barely before them they avoid committing themselves. |
e. refl. To enter into commitment (sense 6 c). Also pass.
| 1948 P. Mairet tr. Sartre's Existentialism 43 What counts is the total commitment, and it is not by a particular case or particular action that you are committed altogether. 1950 B. Frechtman tr. Sartre's What is Literature? p. vii, ‘If you want to commit yourself,’ writes a young imbecile, ‘what are you waiting for? Join the Communist Party.’ 1957 T. Kilmartin tr. Aron's Opium of Intellectuals iv. 127 A philosophy of ‘commitment’ which restricts itself to interpreting the commitment of others and does not commit itself. |
¶ Of doubtful sense or position.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccclxxxiv. 650, I commytte neuer to lyue [jamais je ne veulx vivre] without thou shalte derely abye it. 1621 W. Sclater Tythes (1623) 223 Commit not to incurre suspicion of making so worthy parts seruiceable to priuate respects of any. |
¶ Error for ‘admit’, or ‘conduct’.
| 1598 Famous Vict. Hen. V, ix. 97, I am glad that he is come..Commit him to our presence. Ibid. 109 Commit my Lord Archbishop of Bruges into our presence. |
¶ ‘To consider, regard, account.’ Cent. Dict. A mistake, founded on a corrupt reading ‘commytted’ for ‘compted’ counted.
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▸ intr. To pledge oneself; to make a personal commitment to a course of action, a contract, etc.; spec. to resolve to remain in a long-term (monogamous) relationship with another person; to demonstrate such resolution through a willingness to marry, have children, etc.
| 1982 Business Week (Nexis) 25 Oct. 15 Investors are simply unwilling to commit at fixed rates far into the future. 1986 N.Y. Post 9 July 21 ‘He went down to Miramar, and we got him in a jet,’ remembers Simpson. ‘He got on the ground, and he committed.’ 1989 M. Beattie Beyond Codependency iv. xviii. 217 It can be ‘crazy-making’ to love or care about someone who's afraid to commit. 1993 Times 26 Mar. 3/8 It will alert actors and actresses that when they commit, they commit. 1997 H. H. Tan Foreign Bodies (1998) xxvi. 228, I still didn't know if I could commit. ‘I don't know. I've been to church and it doesn't do anything for me,’ I said. |